The inventive concepts disclosed herein relate generally to the field of deployable tray tables for use aboard aircraft and other passenger conveyances, and more particularly, to a tray table deployable from within a stowage module adapted to be positioned alongside a passenger seat, wherein tray table deployment follows an arced deployment path such that table orientation changes as the tray table transitions between the stowed and deployed positions of the tray table.
Passenger tray tables are known for use aboard aircraft and other conveyances for dining, working, etc. Tray tables are typically stowed as standard safety procedure during taxi, take-off and landing, and can be deployed as needed for use by passengers during flight.
Tray tables serving economy class seats can deploy from against the backside of a forward positioned seat. In the case of the first row of economy class or other seating arrangement lacking a similar forward-positioned seat, tray tables can deploy from against partitions walls or from within armrests positioned alongside the seat.
In the case of seatback and partition mounted tray tables, arms attached to the left and right sides of the tray table guide movement of the tray table between a stowed position in which the tray table is generally vertically-oriented, and a deployed position in which the tray table is generally horizontally-oriented. Fore and aft motion of the tray table can be achieved by allowing the tray table to slide relative to the supporting arms.
In the case of armrest mounted tray tables, which are also commonly used to serve business class and first class seats, these tray tables typically deploy from within or alongside the armrests by way of a complex hinge that allows multi-axis tray table movement. For example, the tray table may stow vertically within the armrest, pivot about a vertical axis to withdraw the tray table from the armrest, then fold or rotate to a horizontal position across the lap of the passenger.
While the above-described tray tables can be used to equip seats arranged into rows of like seats, such configurations are not capable of serving premium class seats such as those arranged into individual passenger suites. Passenger suites can include larger seating and living spaces, and therefore may require tray table deployment from more distant structures within the suite such as modules, dressers, tables, stowage compartments and other furniture. Accordingly, the present invention is directed to tray table deployment configurations suitable for accommodating various premium seating class arrangements.